I have (or had been now I suppose) a loyal customer to an internet company (I won't say which one) for years. I had paid my bill on time every month in full. About a year and a half ago, I started having some problems with my internet. It started out pretty mildly, the internet would drop out now and then.
After more than a week of this, I finally got a hold of them and told them. They informed me there was a service issue in the area. I was a bit frustrated that they had apparently known about this problem all along and hadn't notified anyone but I let it go. These things happen, and it was the first time.
After a month of this, by now the internet was dropping out at least twice a day, I got a hold of them again. I asked if there were any known issues in my area. They told me no. They suggested I do a restart on the modem and see if the problem went away after a few days. Despite knowing that this would not work since I had already done all the troubleshooting, I listened.
The issue was not solved. After more than a year of going through this (apparently I had saint like patience somehow) they finally sent me a new modem after I complained of having to continuously pay full price for something I could not use all the time for so long.
I waited for the modem to be delivered, hooked it up and plugged it in when it came in the mail. It didn't even turn on. I double checked that everything was plugged in and connected and even redid it just in case. Not even a flicker of light.
I waited until my husband came home and got him to look at it. Still nothing so I contacted the company and told them. They said perhaps we had plugged it in wrong. When I told them that was not the case they offered no solution so I simply sent back the defective modem and kept my semi functional one.
A week and a half later, the company called me to say I had sent back the modem they had sent to replace my old one and I again had to explain that it did not work at all. I told them to forget about the modem because I did not want to deal with that again at the moment. However I was still having internet issues so they finally sent someone out to look at the wires outside the house.
This technician was less than helpful. This was near the beginning of the lock down so he was not going to enter the house. That's fine. We did however watch him from the window. He walked over to the box, jiggled the wire, walked back to his vehicle, got in and left.
I was not impressed and when I explained this to my provider they said the technician reported that there was no issue. Of course since he did almost nothing, how would he have known? I insisted they send someone else out and it took another month and a half of fighting before they finally did.
The second technician said the wire outside was so badly damaged it needed to be changed and he did it. I thought the issues would finally end. Around this time my Roku TV had also started acting up. It would not stay connected to the internet for more than a few minutes at a time but since everything else running wifi was fine, I figured it was a separate issue.
Not long after the new cable was installed, I began getting security updates from my provider telling me there was a severe virus on one of the devices connected to my network. I used a program they suggested and ran multiple different virus programs to find nothing. I also had my devices looked at by a professional just to be safe. They also found nothing.
Despite this, the company kept insisting there was one and that made me responsible. By this time, I was past fed up with them between the constant issues, lazy techs, and people telling me they couldn't help me and I would just have to 'figure it out'. I finally decided enough was enough and switched companies.
When I got a hold of them to tell them I was canceling they were suddenly all about wanting to 'do whatever we can to help a loyal customer' Even the cancelation process was a chore. It took me an hour and a half on the chat to get it through to the rep that I was finished. As a way to keep me she offered me $5.00 off my monthly bill for the next year. Not much of an enticement which I admit, I had no problem telling her.
Once she finally realized she was not going to get me to change my mind, she went from concerned and wanting to help to rather rude. Not surprising really since I was no longer to be their customer, what did they care how they treated me?
Perhaps, if they had been better, I would not have gone somewhere else. Regarding the Roku tv, we had done many things to try and fix the issue but to no avail. We gave up on it but oddly enough, as soon as we switch internet providers, the tv was and still is, working just fine.
My conclusion is that for some reason, the internet we had just wasn't allowing it to work right.
That... Kind of sounds like my provider(s). They charge and charge. Tell you your brand new device is broke and test nothing.
I heard this is what they do: Accept each customer but do not have the capability to give them all internet. The first 2 weeks (guarantee) they give it, after that, they screw you back...each time a bit more. If you complain they shrug their shoulders till the moment you complain, get furious, show up daily and... Give you your connection for a while.
Where I live is not even a sender... At the end of the row you have hardly any connection but if you are at the start (closest to an extra sender) you have most if not all of it.
Old modems are asked back if you quit and send it to new customers. Never be loyal to insurance, providers. They do not reward you for it. Find a new one before your contract is over and quiet. It's always cheaper. New customers receive offers, loyal ones not.
That "technician" is a lazy ass you should have made a video out of his working attitude and do call the name of the provider because people need to know how bad they are. They get away with it because they know you depend on internet these days!
They are thieves and talk about 5G the reality is most people not even have 4G. #badservice #badproviders